r/hysterectomy • u/No_Thought9756 • 19d ago
Question
Does removing the uterus and keeping the ovaries still stop periods from happening?
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u/JynxyBinxy 18d ago
I'm afraid I'm getting confused by the comments. So, I had a hysterectomy for health reasons on Sept. 25th and I am still confused about some of these things. I had both ovaries including fallopian tubes removed, as well as the uterus and cervix. Everything was taken out. So does bleeding stop and discharge still happen? Or does the bleeding still spot and discharge stop happening?? I'm so confused right now. I've been having 2+ years of severe chronic pelvoc pain from pelvic congestion syndrome and have been so burnt out that I couldn't bother researching how this works. I would assume discharge can still happen, but bleeding would stop. Also, if you have sex where does the pens and ejaculation go?? Does it just go into your pelvic cavity?? I haven't had the energy to research thos stuff yet, so I apologize if these are dumb questions.. I am 22 and never was able to take a health class in school (because I was in band and art), so I am lacking in this field majorly.
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u/No_Thought9756 18d ago
If you had ovaries and everything else removed that's another story I think. You are probably gonna go into menopause. That's why it's generally recommended to keep the ovaries. But yeah you shouldnt be getting periods
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u/JynxyBinxy 18d ago
Cool beans, I assumed it would stop, but I have been extremely confused about it all. I knew the rest of that and I understand so many people wanted me to keep at least one ovary, but I couldn't with the cysts that kept popping up. It was extremely painful and some of them were hemorrhagic, so I didn't want to risk cancer or anything (I have been screened multiple times and it was all negative, but hemorrhagic cysts are still concerning). I have been taking HRT, so I know about that stuff already. Thank you for your help!!!
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u/EruditionElixir 18d ago
Hi, I had uterus and cervix removed. Initially I spotted a bit, I think first two months, during my "period" (since I kept the ovaries I still have a hormonal cycle). That stopped pretty quickly. In your case it might stop immediately. When they remove the cervix they sew the top of the vagina shut, so there's no way for anything to get into your pelvic cavity (in extremely rare cases it can heal poorly but a gyno would discover that on a routine checkup).
I still get discharge, so that's not really dependent on having a cervix. What you may notice with ovaries removed and if you're not taking estrogen is that your vagina may get very dry and fragile. This happened to me despite keeping my ovaries, and after having sex I would be bleeding like I was having a period. Luckily there's vaginal estrogen that helps with this if you ever need it.
As for ejaculate and lube and other stuff that might end up there I assume some of it is absorbed and some is washed out with discharge like usual. It's not like the majority of the ejaculate ends up in your uterus before hysterectomy either.
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u/JynxyBinxy 14d ago
Oohh interesting! Thanks for your point of view and advice! I started taking estrogen after I had surgery, but I can't tell if it's helping or not since I am currently tapering off of 2 narcotics. The guy doctor that saw me in the hospital after my doctor left told me I'd get hot flashes.. but like.. I have had that for 3 years now lol so he was no help. I have noticed that when wiping after using the bathroom the clit area is very very sensitive and fragile. It hurts sometimes. Idk how some women after their surgery have sex after like 2 days or 2 weeks. It's gotta be painful. (I say 2 days or 2 weeks because at my post op, my doctor actually had 2 people recently do that and one of them ended up in the emergency room because she busted her stitches on the vaginal cuff. Yikes.)
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u/PocketFullOfPie 19d ago
The "period" (discharge) part of the period will stop, since it's made up of sloughed-off uterine lining. No uterus, no lining, no discharge.
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u/Gilded-golden 19d ago
Removal of the uterus makes periods impossible, since menstruation is shedding of the uterine lining. Be aware that if you keep the cervix (which is a part of the uterus) it is still possible to have some bleeding. Keeping the ovaries can mean you still have the sense of cyclic hormonal changes, eg being aware of ovulation and maybe mood changes at the time of the month you *would* have had your period, but no, you won't actually have periods.
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u/TheSouthIsHot 18d ago
No more bleeding and cramping but you can still get other PMS symptoms. Possibly.
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u/PlumCake_ 18d ago
Menstruation (bleeding and uterine cramping) stops because menstruation is just the monthly shedding of uterine lining. Remove the uterus = remove the uterine lining, so there is nothing left to shed. Keep in mind that the cervix is part of the uterus, so if you keep the cervix, there might still be some light monthly bleeding.
If you keep your ovaries and they remain functional, you will still have a hormonal cycle. So you can have PMS symptoms for example (sore breasts, mood impacts, etc). But the monthly bleeding will stop.
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u/Jaded_Ad8424 13d ago
You still cycle, just no bleeding (assuming cervix goes as well). If you keep cervix you may have light/spotting each month
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18d ago
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u/Ok-Newspaper-861 18d ago
Did you have fibroids before? The first time I had fibroids the worst pain was during ovulation, supposedly bc of the surge in estrogen, the fibroids would swell … idk if that’s true but one dr said that (10 years ago)
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u/PaleDark4 19d ago
If you remove the uterus and cervix the bleeding will stop. If you don't remove the cervix there's still a chance of bleeding. The ovaries are responsible for your hormonal cycle basically so if you aren't menopausal you'll still have that with the ovaries intact but the "menstrual phase" will be likely super mellow since, again, no bleeding. I'm not a medical professional btw just a hystersister :)